Birka, medieval city in southeastern Sweden, on the Lake Mälaren island of Björkö. It was Sweden’s first major urban centre and served as a thriving international trade centre between western and eastern Europe.

Founded in the 9th century and thus one of the earliest urban settlements in Scandinavia, Birka was the Baltic link in the river and portage route through Russia to the Byzantine Empire. A major part of the city’s commerce involved Russian, Byzantine, and Arabic goods, in addition to western European articles. Birka declined and disappeared after 975 because the Baltic island of Gotland was in a better strategic position for receiving Russian-Byzantine trade and perhaps also because the water level around Björkö had dropped. Birka’s activity was taken over by Gotland and by a new Mälaren site, Sigtuna.

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...and furs was particularly lucrative, as the rich finds of Arab silver coins in Swedish soil demonstrate. Swedish Vikings also controlled trade across the Baltic; and it was for this activity that Birka, generally regarded as Sweden’s oldest town, was founded (c. 800). Swedish Vikings took part in raids against western Europe as well. From the 10th century, however, control of the Russian...